Failed Experiment
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Set after the season four finale. After an experiment gone wrong, Charlie is turned into his eight year old self. Don realizes how much he hurt his brother when they were younger, and Alan struggles to raise the eight year old again.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs.

* * *

When the smoke cleared after the experiment went wrong, Larry Fleinhardt and Amita Ramanujan were shocked to find the adult Charles Eppes gone, but surprised to see a little boy in his place.

"Who are you?" the little boy asked.

"I'm Lawrence Fleinhardt. Who are you?" Larry asked.

"I'm Charles Edward Eppes," the little boy announced suspiciously.

Larry looked at him in shock. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure I know my own name, Mister," Charlie pointed out.

"He's so adorable," Amita cried. Larry gave her a weird look, but Amita paid no attention to the look.

"I'm going to call Don and Alan," Larry proclaimed.

"My brother and daddy?" Charlie asked happily.

"Your brother and daddy," Amita replied.

"What about my mommy?" Charlie asked.

Amita shot a panicked look towards Larry, who was busy talking to Don.

"She's away," Amita lied.

About twenty minutes later, both Don and Alan showed up at CalSci.

"Hi, Daddy," Charlie cried happily.

Alan looked panicked, but he smiled when Charlie launched himself at him.

"How are you doing?" Don asked.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked.

"It's Don," he said.

"You're old," Charlie said.

"Charlie," Alan warned, slipping back into the mode of parenting an eight year old.

Don just laughed. "What happened exactly?" he asked Amita.

"We were just experimenting and something went wrong," Amita said.

"Can you fix it?" Alan asked as Charlie babbled on happily about "Mr. Larry" and "Miss Amita".

"We can try, but it might take awhile," Larry explained.

"We don't know exactly what happened," explained Amita.

"Can we go home?" Charlie asked Alan.

"Of course," Alan said, putting his son down.

Charlie immediately latched onto Don.

"What are you doing?" Don asked.

"I'm scared and you're really old," Charlie pointed out. Don laughed and picked him up.

"Can I go see the koi?" Charlie asked when Don pulled up to the Craftsman.

"I'll go with him," Don told his father.

"Be careful," Alan warned the nine year old.

"I like koi a lot," Charlie informed Don about ten minutes later.

"I know you do," Don said.

"Miss Amita said Mommy's away. Where'd she go?" Charlie asked.

Don winced at the question. Charlie was a very inquisitive little boy, but Don really didn't want to tell him that their mother was dead. It would traumatize the eight year old. "She's away in another state," Don lied.

"What state?"

Don sighed. "She's in Hawaii," he said.

"Why aren't we in Hawaii with Mommy?"

"It was a business trip," Don lied.

"Oh. That's good. Mommy likes to work."

"Yeah, she does," Don replied.

"What are we having for dinner?"

"Do you always ask many questions?" Don asked.

"Questions get answers," Charlie replied.

"That does make sense," Don conceded.

"So, what are we having for dinner?" Charlie asked impatiently.

"I don't know yet, Buddy."

"Come on in," Alan called.

"Let's go," Don told Charlie, who grabbed his brother's hand. Don looked down in shock, but said nothing.

David, Colby, and Liz were standing in the living room.

"Larry called and told us what happened," Colby explained.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked.

"Manners," Don and Alan warned at the same time.

"I'm Colby Granger. Who are you?"

"Charles Edward Eppes," he said.

"I'm David Sinclair. I work with your brother," David told Charlie.

"I'm Liz Warner," Liz said, introducing herself.

"What do you do?" Charlie asked Don.

"I work for the FBI," Don informed him, smiling when his little brother's eyes got wide.

"But you like baseball," Charlie insisted.

"Baseball didn't work out for me, Buddy."

"I'm sorry," Charlie said sadly.

"It's okay, Buddy. I'm happy where I am."

"We're having hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner," Alan informed Charlie, having remembered his son's favorite meal as a little boy.

"Yay," Charlie cheered happily.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Alan asked the three people in his living room.

All three nodded.

"Don, invite Robin, Larry, and Amita."

"I will," Don said.

"Who's Robin?" a curious Charlie asked David.

"Your brother's girlfriend," David explained.

"Don has a girlfriend," Charlie chanted over and over again until Alan warned him to stop.

After dinner, Larry and Amita sat down in the living room to talk with Alan and Don, explaining how long it might take to get Charlie back to normal.

Don and Alan were a little worried, but they knew they could handle raising little Charlie for ten months. Alan had already done it before, and Don had helped.

The next ten months would be… interesting.

TBC

* * *

I came up with this idea awhile ago. I just love the idea of Don and Alan taking care of a little Charlie. Please review so I know if I'm doing well or not.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs.

**AN: I'm not around eight year olds too much, so I don't really know how they act. I do know my eight year old cousin's extremely hyper, so that's how Charlie's going to act. I blame Charlie's acting like a little boy on his fear of everything changing for him. He doesn't really understand what's happening. However, he will still refer to Alan as Daddy, and Margaret as Mommy. My eight year old cousin still calls her parents that. Charlie will be acting older now.**

* * *

Charlie Eppes was scared. Daddy was with him, but Mommy was gone and Donnie was really old.

"What's wrong?" Don asked his little brother. He was still freaking about the fact that his thirty-one year old brother was now eight.

"I miss Mommy, and I want to go to school," Charlie confessed.

"I know you do, Buddy. But we can have fun here," Don assured his brother. He was still a protective older brother, whether Charlie was thirty-one or eight.

"Do I have to go to bed?" Charlie asked. He didn't want to sleep. What if he was kidnapped? He had watched the news the other night, and someone had been kidnapped. Charlie was in high school with Don, but he knew that bad people were still out there.

"Of course you do," Alan told him.

"Daddy, I don't have school in the morning," Charlie whined.

"Charles," Alan warned.

"Sorry, Daddy," Charlie said. He was eight and in high school. He was practically a grown up now.

"It's okay," Alan assured him. He couldn't believe how quickly he had stepped back into the mindset of raising an eight year old, especially his genius eight year old who still could get into some trouble.

"Can I read a book?" Charlie asked his father nervously.

"Of course you can," Alan said.

"Lights out by 9:30," Don reminded him. He flinched in shock. How had he remembered such a miniscule detail like that?

"I know," Charlie said.

"I'm going back to my apartment," Don informed his father.

"No," Charlie cried, surprising Alan and Don. He didn't want Don to go.

"Why not?" Don asked.

"You need to stay here," Charlie insisted.

"Why?" asked the concerned Alan. He didn't remember Charlie being this clingy when he was eight the first time.

"Because he needs to stay," Charlie said.

"I'll stay," Don promised. He got out the spare clothes he kept at the house and changed into his pajamas. He slipped into his old bed.

He was woken up at 3:30AM by a very scared little boy.

"Donnie," cried Charlie.

"What's wrong?" Don murmured, still sleeping a little.

"I didn't want to bother Daddy," Charlie frantically explained to his brother.

"Charlie, calm down and explain what's wrong," Don said, now worried.

"I had a nightmare and it scared me," Charlie explained. A werewolf had been attacking Mommy, and Charlie (who was really old, like Don) had been in the garage. He hadn't been able to stop Mommy from dying.

"You want to sleep with me?" Don asked, remembering that when Charlie was older, he always used to want to climb into bed with his brother after a nightmare or a thunderstorm.

"It's okay. I'll go back to my bed," Charlie sadly told his brother.

"Buddy, it's fine," Don said. Charlie gave him a watery smile, and barely managed to get up into the bed.

The next day would be spent getting even more adjusted to eight year old Charlie.

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs or the Rubik's Cube. I can't even solve the Rubik's Cube.

* * *

Charlie really wanted Mommy to come home. Daddy wouldn't tell him where she was staying, so he couldn't get the number for the hotel.

"I can finish that Rubik's Cube," Charlie informed Larry. Larry wasn't surprised. He had seen Charlie complete the one on his desk several times.

"I know you can," Larry said. He had been stuck baby-sitting Charlie until Don got home from work. Alan was currently on a weekend trip with Millie. He had planned on canceling it to care for Charlie, but Don had promised to take care of him. Charlie had cried when Alan left, but he quickly got it over when Amita handed him college level math problems.

Charlie had solved those in a few hours, shocking both Larry and Amita. They had heard the stories about the younger Charlie solving complex problems, but they were still shocked at his genius.

"When's Donnie coming home?" Charlie asked, clearly wanting his older brother. Charlie hoped he hadn't done anything to make Donnie mad, like he had a few weeks earlier after "getting lost" on his brother's thirteenth birthday.

"He'll be home soon. He just went out to go catch a bad guy," Amita explained. Ever since meeting the younger version of Charlie, she had been imagining little curly-haired children. She just hoped that Charlie would return to normal before the tenth months were up.

"Is he a hero?" Charlie asked seriously. Larry hid his smile, but Amita didn't.

"Yes he is," Amita told him. She had noticed that Charlie seemed to worship the ground Don walked on, but was a little wary around him. She knew that Don and Charlie had had some problems growing up, but she hoped they weren't serious.

Luckily for her, they weren't. Charlie was still reeling from Don's birthday where they camped, and he remembered Don rolling his eyes for most of the way up there. Charlie hadn't wanted to go. He had wanted to stay home with Mommy, and work on math problems or watch his favorite cartoon. Donnie hadn't wanted him to go earlier. That's why Charlie had left.

"What are you thinking about?" Larry asked Charlie, noticing the little boy had zoned out.

Charlie shook his head. "Can I eat soon?" he asked. He was really hungry.

"Don said you two were going to eat pizza for dinner once he got back. Would you like an apple for a snack?" Amita asked.

Charlie nodded. He really loved apples.

Amita handed him the apple. "Thanks," Charlie replied. He bit into the apple and continued to eat it.

After Don caught the bad guy, he and Charlie sat down to eat pizza. They watched one of Charlie's favorite movies. Charlie fell asleep halfway through the movie, his head in Don's lap. Don smiled and fell asleep himself.

TBC

* * *

Sorry I didn't update earlier. I've been really busy lately, especially since I graduate high school tonight. I've been busy practicing and everything. The good news is, the rain finally stopped so we graduate on the field instead of in the auditorium. It was raining this morning(thunder and lightning included),so I figured we'd be in the auditorium. I'm so glad the rain finally did stop. Graduation won't take long, and I'm going out to eat afterwards. The reason it won't take so long is because I'm graduating in a class of 40.

The next update should be tomorrow or Sunday. My party's on Saturday. (I can't wait for the rigatoni and fried chicken, even though I may be getting chicken wings tonight.)

Look for the next update.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs.

* * *

When Alan returned home, Charlie launched himself at his father and began rambling about his weekend with Don.

"He was pretty good," Don explained to his father. He hadn't thought Charlie would be bad, but Alan thought otherwise.

"That's great," Alan said, smiling. Don may have thought Charlie was good, but Alan had wondered how Charlie would react without both parents around. Alan and Don were still skirting around the issue of Margaret. Alan didn't want to break his youngest son's heart.

A month passed, and Charlie stayed the same age. However, he became suspicious of Margaret's "business trip".

"I think you lied about Mommy. Where is she?" Charlie asked Alan. Alan stared at his youngest son. He had been expecting this, since Charlie was a genius, but not this soon.

Alan sighed. "Charlie, I didn't lie about Mommy. She's away for work. I promise you that she'll be back soon," he lied. Alan didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

Charlie sighed and decided let it go. He'd get it out of his father or Donnie eventually. Donnie was acting different around him now. He didn't seem mad about when he got "lost" on his birthday, but he had been before. Donnie had also seemed sad too, like he thought it was his fault or something.

"What are you going to do with him tomorrow?" Don asked his father. He was quickly becoming overprotective of the eight year old. Don loved both versions of his brother, but he missed his Charlie.

"I took off work," Alan explained. He wanted to spend some time with the eight year old before he realized why Margaret wasn't around.

"Dad, you should hire a baby-sitter or something," Don told his father. They couldn't watch Charlie all by themselves for ten months.

"Donnie, we'll deal with that later," Alan said. As irrational as it was, he didn't want Charlie to have a baby-sitter.

"Are you going to see Robin?" Charlie asked his brother. He hoped Robin came over. She played with him sometimes.

"I don't know, Buddy," Don told him. He loved Robin, but his currently eight year old brother was a priority right now.

"Tell her hi," Charlie instructed. He sighed and went to go work on some math problems that Amita had given him earlier in the day.

"I probably will," Don admitted to his father. Charlie had grown attached to both Robin and Amita.

The doorbell rang and Alan answered the door. Amita looked sick.

"What's wrong?" Don asked her. She was pale.

Amita sighed. "I haven't been feeling well this weekend. I didn't know why I was sick, but it hit me today. I'm pregnant," she explained.

Don and Alan stared at her in shock. They couldn't believe Charlie had knocked up his girlfriend and couldn't even be there for her right now.

"We'll be with you every step of the way," Alan assured her. He was so happy that he was going to be a grandfather, but the older version of Charlie would probably miss his baby's birth.

"Thanks," Amita replied. She still couldn't believe she was going to have a baby. No wonder she had been dreaming about curly-headed kids.

"Congratulations," Don told her. He was excited about becoming an uncle. He and Robin had talked it over and had decided to have kids soon.

"I have to go. Tell Charlie I said hello," Amita answered. She left the house. Amita and Charlie had been discussing moving in, but that probably wouldn't happen until Charlie was back to normal.

"That was really unexpected," Don said to his father as they went into the living. Charlie was working on his problems and watching TV at the same time.

Alan agreed. "How are we going to tell him? He's not his normal self," he pointed out. There was no way that he and Don were going to tell an eight year old that his girlfriend was pregnant.

"We'll think about that later," Don decided. He wasn't even sure on how to approach the subject.

"Have you heard from Megan recently?" Alan asked. She and Larry were still together and going strong, but he hadn't asked him.

Don nodded. "I called her to tell her what happened to Charlie and she started laughing. Larry called her too and she laughed then," he explained.

"I want Charlie to get back to normal," Don confessed to his father. He figured Alan did too.

"It's not to make the next ten months go by fast," Alan replied. He loved both of his sons, but taking care of an eight year old was tiring.

"It's nearly a year. It's going to go slow no matter what," Don pointed out. He didn't know how far along Amita was, but he knew she would give birth before the ten months was up. Poor Charlie would miss out on everything.

The Eppes family could get through anything, and they would prove that.

TBC

* * *

I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner. Writer's block got to me, along with the death of one of my cats. I promise the next update will be very soon. The Amita pregnancy was planned for awhile. Look for the update next week some time.

Please review and tell me what you think. It helps me to become a better writer.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs.

* * *

Three months passed, and Charlie was still an eight year old. He had finally learned the truth about Margaret two months earlier. It had led to an epic meltdown with Don comforting his little brother. Alan and Millie had been at the store.

"Daddy, what's for dinner?" Charlie asked his father. He was really hungry. Amita and Robin were coming over for dinner.

"Chicken, mashed potatoes, and noodles," Alan explained. It was one of Charlie's favorite meals. He would always mix the noodles in with the mashed potatoes. They were great that way, according to his youngest son. Alan and Don didn't believe it, but Margaret and Charlie had always eaten it that way.

"Yay," Charlie cried. He couldn't wait to eat now. He hoped Larry was coming over too. His friend Megan was in town, and Don had said that Larry and Megan had eloped to Vegas.

The doorbell rang. With Alan warning him to be careful, Charlie bolted towards the door. He opened it to reveal the five months pregnant Amita. Charlie knew about the baby and the fact that he was older, but didn't know that the little girl was his.

"Hey, Charlie," Amita told him. She headed towards the couch. Her feet were killing her. She really hoped Charlie was back by the time the baby was born.

"How are you feeling?" Charlie asked. He was excited about the baby. He had asked Amita if he could name the baby, and Amita had been surprised. She had agreed though.

"Great," Amita answered honestly. She had been to the doctor today, and she was gaining the right amount of weight.

The door opened again a few minutes later. David, Colby, Robin, Don, Larry, and Megan entered the Craftsman.

"Donnie, I missed you," Charlie informed his brother. He had done some math problems earlier, but had been extremely bored afterwards.

"I miss you too, Buddy," Don said. As much as he loved the normal version of his brother, he had still missed the younger version.

"Did you catch any bad guys?" Charlie asked. He was enthralled by Don's job and had declared his brother "awesome".

"Not yet," Don admitted. His team was on the verge of catching a murderer, but they weren't quite there yet.

A few months earlier, Charlie had brought up Don's thirteenth birthday and asked Don why he wasn't mad about that. Don had been shocked because he didn't know that Charlie thought he had been mad. Charlie had cried over the fact, and Don had forgiven him again. He hadn't realized how much he had hurt Charlie over small things like that when they were younger.

"You look handsome today," Megan informed the little boy. She loved the small version of Charlie, and hoped he would remember this when the ten months were up.

"Thanks," Charlie answered, suddenly shy. Megan was really nice to him. He liked that Larry liked her.

"What's on TV tonight?" Colby asked Charlie. He and little Charlie got along really well, just like with the older version. Charlie went to him when there was a problem if Alan, Don, or Larry weren't around.

"I don't know," Charlie confessed. There had been nothing on earlier, so Charlie had just watched the koi. It was fun to see them swim around.

"Have you picked a name for the baby yet?" Amita questioned. She had her own ideas, but wanted to see what Charlie had chosen.

Charlie nodded. He was excited about his name choice. "I'm not telling you," he told her. He probably would, but Amita didn't know that yet.

Amita saw right through him. "You can tell me," she assured him. If Charlie had chosen a horrible name, she had six back-ups chosen.

Charlie sighed. "I picked out Caroline Margaret Ramanujan," he explained. He had poured through the baby books Amita had given him, and he kept going back to Caroline.

Amita gave a watery smile to the eight year old. "That's perfect, Charlie. We can even call her Carly," she told him. The baby's last name would be Eppes, but Charlie didn't know that. Caroline had been on her list of back-up names, so that was a good thing. She had chosen Caroline Jacqueline Eppes though. Caroline Margaret Eppes was pretty.

"You like it?" asked the amazed Charlie. He had expected her to reject the name. His second choice had been Isabelle Rose.

"I love it," Amita assured him, trying not to cry. She couldn't believe how sweet the eight year old was.

"Dinner's ready," Alan called from the kitchen. Everyone bolted to the table so they could eat.

"This is really great," David told Alan. He loved Alan's cooking. Dinner at the Eppes house was never dull.

"I am so hungry right now," Amita confessed. She was eating a lot of food lately because of the pregnancy. Amita loved being pregnant. It was one of the most amazing things in the world.

"Robin and I have some news," Don said. Alan looked excited. He hoped the news was an engagement. He couldn't wait for Robin to become an Eppes.

"We're getting married," Robin announced. Don had proposed the night before, and she had accepted. Robin loved Don so much and couldn't wait to be his wife.

"That's great," Charlie told them. He hugged his brother and future sister-in-law. Congratulations echoed around the table as everyone continued to eat.

"When do you think you'll get married?" Amita asked. She hoped grown up Charlie proposed soon. She loved him a lot and the baby would only make things better.

"We want a small wedding and we want it in a few months," Robin explained. The wedding was probably just going to be her parents, brother, Don's family, Amita, and Don's team.

"Can we have it outside?" Don asked Alan. Getting married in the backyard seemed like the right thing to do. Robin had told him it would be perfect.

"Of course," Alan said. He was gaining a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter in only a few months. Life was really good. He couldn't wait until more good things happened.

"Thank you," Robin told him, struggling not to cry. The proposal had made her emotional. Stupid emotional events.

"You're welcome," Alan replied. He would offer help to plan the wedding. Margaret would be so thrilled about adding Robin to the family.

"Is there any dessert?" Megan asked. She was craving chocolate so bad right now.

"Chocolate cake," Charlie informed her. He had begged his father to buy the cake at the store, and he was glad to have thought of it.

"That sounds great," Colby said. He couldn't wait for dessert. Dinner had been wonderful and dessert would top that off.

Things were improving for the Eppes family, but no one was sure if Charlie would ever be the same after the ten months was up.

All they could do now was just be happy and go with the flow.

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs or anything else related to the show.

* * *

Three more months passed, and Amita was in her eighth month of pregnancy. She couldn't wait to have Caroline, but desperately wanted the grown up Charlie to be with her through the labor.

"I'm bored," Charlie whined to David. He and Colby were watching Charlie for the day.

"Why don't you go do the math problems Larry gave you?" Colby asked. Amita and Larry had been giving him the math problems for months.

"I'm getting tired of them," Charlie whined again. He wanted Don and Daddy. Why did they have to work?

Both David and Colby rolled their eyes. Charlie had been bored for awhile now.

"Don's getting home soon with Robin," Colby assured Charlie. Don and Robin were planning the wedding for after Amita gave birth. She was a bridesmaid and really didn't want to be a pregnant bridesmaid.

"I hope Amita's okay," Charlie said, changing the subject. He was worried about her and the baby.

"She's fine," David assured the eight year old. Well, nine year old now. Charlie's birthday had been last week, which meant he would be a year old when he changed back to his normal self.

"What are we having for dinner?" Charlie asked. He was really hungry and wanted to eat something.

"Your dad's bringing dinner home," David replied. Charlie asked so many questions it wasn't even funny.

"Can I watch TV?" Charlie wondered. Colby sighed and nodded. He couldn't wait until Alan or Don and Robin came back. They were better equipped to deal with Charlie than he and David.

"Watch it with me," Charlie begged the two. The two FBI agents reluctantly sat down with the little boy. They had been chosen to watch the nine year old today because no one else was available.

When Alan returned a few hours later, David and Colby practically bolted out of the door. "What'd you do to them today?" Alan asked his son suspiciously.

"I was bored," Charlie informed his father and Alan understood. A bored Charlie was always trouble.

"You could have found something to do, Charles Edward Eppes," Alan told him. His son knew what he was supposed to do when he got bored.

"Why'd you get full-named?" Don asked, coming through the door with both Amita and Robin.

"He got bored and drove the boys crazy," Alan explained. Don laughed. He had had many experiences with a bored Charlie.

"Poor David and Colby," Don said sympathetically. He and Robin had finally finished the last of their wedding plans.

Everyone sat down to eat a few minutes later. Alan had bought some fast food.

After dinner was over, they sat down to watch TV again. Charlie's boredom had hit an all-time high.

When Charlie suddenly began crying out in pain, everyone was immediately worried. "Should I call 911?" Robin asked.

She didn't get an answer as something smoky began swirling, and when it stopped, Charlie had been returned to normal.

"It's glad to be back," he shouted. He went over to Amita and began to kiss her. He left his hand rest on her swollen stomach.

No one had any idea why Charlie had just returned to normal, and no one would ever find out.

TBC


	7. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs or anything related to the show.

* * *

Thirty-three year old Caroline Eppes-Fleinhardt couldn't believe how weird her father and uncle were acting. They hadn't come out of the garage in a long time.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" asked Carly's cousin, thirty-one year old Margaret Elizabeth Eppes-Granger.

"They're probably playing again," Carly's younger sister Donna Eppes-Sinclair told them. Donna had been named after her uncle.

"They love playing ping-pong way too much," Maggie's younger sister Charlotte observed. Charlotte and Donna had been born within hours of each other. Robin and Amita had been pregnant at the same time, and had even been in labor at the same time.

"Grandpa Charlie says to come play," six year old Alana, Carly's daughter, told her mother and aunts.

"Where's your uncle?" Carly asked Alana. If she knew her brother, Jacob was probably out in the garage with the boys.

"He's doing math problems," Alana explained. Jacob was just as smart as Charlie was. Carly, Donna, and Jacob were pretty close. Youngest sister Andrea had been an unexpected surprise to Charlie and Amita, and was now a teenager. She was hanging out with her friends today.

"Is Caleb helping?" Maggie asked. Caleb was also smart, and loved helping Jacob with math problems. Alana nodded.

"They want you in the garage," David informed Donna, his daughter-in-law. Colby, Don, Charlie, and David were all related now because their children had married.

"We're coming," Charlotte told him. Sometimes her father and uncle drove her crazy.

The Eppes family went out into the garage and started to watch the game that had been going on for a long time now.

"They won't give up," Robin informed them. The game was tied, but neither one of the Eppes boy wanted to quit.

"It's getting irritating," Megan explained. She and Larry were sitting on the couch, playing with Alana. It was a little weird that Larry and Megan shared a grandchild with Amita and Charlie, but they had gotten over that.

"It's been irritating for awhile now," corrected Colby's wife Jeannie. Charlie and Don got super-competitive sometimes.

"I think it's funny to watch them," Claudia Sinclair said. She loved hanging out with the Eppes family. David, Colby, Jeannie, and Claudia were honorary Eppes anyway.

The Eppes family was happy, even though Charlie and Don occasionally turned back in their younger selves. As a result of the experiment gone wrong, Charlie randomly turned back into his younger self. Another accident with the different version of the same experiment had left Don with the same problem. Both boys were now experiencing the problem again, except that Don was nineteen and Charlie was fourteen.

Things were as normal as they could get for the Eppes, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

The End

* * *

I thought that was a nice way to end the story, with Don and Charlie being affected by the problem, but not all the time. My next story is one where Charlie's life takes a turn for the worst following the season finale. He doesn't have a clearance anymore, Alan is dying from cancer, and Don can't remember after Margaret's death, so Charlie retreats to P vs. NP for the first time in a long time.


End file.
